The invention relates to wind generators having propellers or blades that are rotated by the force of the wind to produce electricity. More specifically, the invention relates to the exposed top ends of the anchor bolts that secure the tower base of the wind generator to the foundation that is formed in the ground. Prior to installing bolt caps over the exposed top ends of the anchor bolts, grease must be applied to the exposed external threads of the anchor bolts. The bolt greaser unit accomplishes this task both quickly and economically.
Presently there are numerous wind generators in existence that have a tower base 200 feet or higher. These wind generators have blades or propellers up to ninety feet or longer. There may be as many as 240 or more anchor bolts used to secure the tower base to the foundation. The foundation itself may be in the order of thirty feet deep and these anchor bolts may be in the order of thirty feet long. During the operation of anchoring the tower base to the foundation, a nut is tightened onto the top end of each of the anchor bolts. Next a second nut is threaded on to the top end of each of the anchor bolts. Then a hydraulic jack is used on each of the anchor bolts to stretch them by jacking them up with 70 to 80 thousand pounds of prestressed tension and the first nuts are lightly tightened down. When the hydraulic pressure on the jack is released the prestressed anchor bolts tighten the nuts down against the annular flanges on the bottom end of the tower base. The top ends of the anchor bolts are now exposed to the elements such as sun, wind, rain, snow and moisture. Over time the moisture seeps down into the concrete around the anchor bolts in the foundation. This causes corrosion that weakens the anchor bolts and shortens the life of the tower base. Presently the wind generators and tower bases are amortized over about twenty years. By preventing corrosion to the anchor bolts, the life of the wind generator and its tower base can be extended several years. This is quite significant when it is kept in mind that a wind generator can cost a million or more dollars.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel bolt greaser unit that can quickly and thoroughly apply grease to the exposed top ends of the anchor bolts prior to installing an anchor bolt cap there over.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel bolt greaser unit that is economical to manufacture and market.